Victor Henry Scores Second-Round TKO Victory At RIZIN 21

Victor Henry’s winning streak now stretches to eight, after the American stopped Japan’s Masanori Kanehara via TKO in the second round of their bantamweight clash at RIZIN 21. The bout began tentatively with Henry sending out a series of probing kicks as he looked for an opening. The cagey opening was broken at the three-minute […]

Victor Henry’s winning streak now stretches to eight, after the American stopped Japan’s Masanori Kanehara via TKO in the second round of their bantamweight clash at RIZIN 21.

The bout began tentatively with Henry sending out a series of probing kicks as he looked for an opening. The cagey opening was broken at the three-minute mark with a successful takedown attempt from Kanehara.

The 37-year-old took the back of Henry and went hunting for a rear-naked-choke, which was not forthcoming. Despite not be able to lock in the submission, Kanehara was able to soften the American up with several headshots as the two men grappled.

Henry came out of the blocks quickly in the second round peppering Kanehara with a series of jabs. The Japanese fighter returned fire, but it was Henry who scored the telling blow when he landed a heavy right flush on the check of Kanehara.

RIZIN’s bantamweight division is stacked with great fighters, and it will be interesting to see who Henry faces next. He is now two from two in his RIZIN career, with both wins coming via stoppage.

RIZIN 21: Full Card, Start Time & How To Watch

After tearing the roof the Saitama Super Arena with an absolute stellar New Years’ show, RIZIN FF returns this weekend for their first event of 2020. RIZIN 21 will take place on Sat. 22 February, inside the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Japan. The 13-bout card will feature five kickboxing and seven MMA bouts, as well […]

After tearing the roof the Saitama Super Arena with an absolute stellar New Years’ show, RIZIN FF returns this weekend for their first event of 2020.

RIZIN 21 will take place on Sat. 22 February, inside the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Japan. The 13-bout card will feature five kickboxing and seven MMA bouts, as well as one Jiu-Jitsu gauntlet match. The match will see Brazil’s Roberto Satoshi Souza taking on five Team Nakai competitors, one after the other over a 10 minute period.

Headlining the event will be a 150 pound catchweight bout between Japan’s Mikuru Asakura and Mexico’s Daniel Salas. Asakura is coming into this event on a seven-fight winning streak.

The co-main event will feature a bantamweight bout between the USA’s Victor Henry and Japanese veteran Masanori Kanehara.

RIZIN 21 will also see the promotional debut of former UFC fighter Naoki Inoue. The former flyweight has made the shift to bantamweight and will take on Australia’s Trent Girdham.

The card can be watched via FITE TV and is set to start 9:00 pm PST.

Full Card:

  • Catchweight: Mikuru Asakura vs Daniel Salas
  • Bantamweight: Victor Henry vs Masanori Kanehara
  • Heavyweight:Roque Martinez vs Hideki Sekine
  • Catchweight:Marcos de Souza vs Falco Neto
  • Bantamweight:Kintaro vs Kenji Kato
  • Jiu-Jitsu Gauntlet Exhibition Bout: Roberto Satoshi Souza
  • Bantamweight:Trent Girdham vs Naoki Inoue
  • Featherweight:Vugar Keramov vs Kyle Aguon

Kickboxing:

  • Heavyweight:Kousuke Jitukata vs Ryo Sakai
  • Flyweight:Kenichi Takeuchi vs Naoya

Opening Bouts Not Televised:

  • Catchweight: Henry Cejas vs SEIDO
  • Lightweight: YUYA vs KOUKI
  • Catchweight: Masaji Tozuka vs Masahiro Ozawa

Exclusive: Naoki Inoue Is Ready To Take On RIZIN’s Bantamweight Division

RIZIN FF returns this week with the Japanese promotion set to hold its first show of 2020. RIZIN 21 will take place on Saturday, 22 February, inside the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Japan. Headlining the 12-bout card will be a 68kg catchweight bout between Japan’s Mikuru Asakura and Mexico’s Daniel Salas. RIZIN 21 will also […]

RIZIN FF returns this week with the Japanese promotion set to hold its first show of 2020. RIZIN 21 will take place on Saturday, 22 February, inside the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Japan.

Headlining the 12-bout card will be a 68kg catchweight bout between Japan’s Mikuru Asakura and Mexico’s Daniel Salas. RIZIN 21 will also feature the anticipated promotional debut of Naoki Inoue. The Japanese submission specialist is set to share the ring with Australia’s Trent Girdham, setting the scene for a classic grappler vs. striker duel. Both fighters share similar stats on paper, and their fight looks set to be one of the more intriguing matchups of the night.

“Same age, same record, he is a good striker, and he has a good strong base, so it’s not going to be easy to take him down, is my impression of Trent,” Inoue said to Lowkick MMA.

“He is going to be the first southpaw I am going to fight in my career so for this fight camp, I did spar, hit pads with southpaws, and I am still in the process of building the strength needed to be bantamweight, so I have been working a lot on gaining physical strength.”

Inoue’s recent decision to sign with RIZIN along with his move from flyweight to bantamweight will ensure that he keeps a full dance card in what is one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion.

“I think RIZIN has the best bantamweight division outside the UFC. The talent pool is very deep, and all of them are world-class fighters, so I am honored to be able to fight for RIZIN,” he said.

“In the future, I would like to get an opportunity to fight the world’s top fighters like Kyoji Horiguchi, Kai Asakura, and the current champion Manel Kape.”

After taking up martial arts at age seven, Inoue soon felt the pull of MMA and turned pro in 2014. His impressive performances brought him to the attention of the UFC, where he racked up a 1-1 record before parting ways with the company. Inoue’s talent meant it was only a matter of time before he returned to the world stage. After a first-round submission victory at DEEP 93 in December, he soon found himself signing a deal with Japan’s biggest MMA promotion.

” In the world of MMA, I think RIZIN has the best presentation. Their format is geared towards entertaining fans, so I always wanted to fight for RIZIN, so I am very happy that I got to sign with the promotion,” Inoue exclaimed.

Japan has always been one of the spiritual homes of MMA, and Inoue believes that RIZIN will be the promotion that shapes this era of Japanese MMA.

“Right now, in terms of the Japanese MMA scene, it all depends on how RIZIN is going to do, is how I feel.

“Also, there are fighters from RIZIN that has signed with [the] UFC, and if those fighters do well in the UFC, I think the world will recognize more about RIZIN. So, right now, I think the Japanese MMA scene is starting to get hot again.”

Inoue has plans to compete four times in 2020, giving him plenty of opportunities to showcase his skill set in the RIZIN bantamweight division, and this weekend’s bout should provide fans with a taste of what is to come from this young talent.

If you’re a fan who wishes to follow Inoue’s MMA journey in more detail, you can check out his YouTube channel, which he runs with his sister.

RIZIN FF Announce 11 Bouts For Feb’s RIZIN 21 Card

Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN FF are set to hold their first event of 2020 on February 22nd at the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. RIZIN 21 will be the first time that the promotion has held an event this early in the year. Usually, the promotion holds its first event in April during the sakura […]

The post RIZIN FF Announce 11 Bouts For Feb’s RIZIN 21 Card appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN FF are set to hold their first event of 2020 on February 22nd at the Hamamatsu Arena in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.

RIZIN 21 will be the first time that the promotion has held an event this early in the year. Usually, the promotion holds its first event in April during the sakura season, which is when Japan’s iconic cherry blossom trees bloom.

So far, 11-fights have been announced with the card currently being made up of seven MMA and five kickboxing bouts.

Former UFC fighter and former Sengoku Featherweight Champion Masanori Kanehara will make his promotional debut with the 37-year-old taking on the USA’s Victor Henry.

The veteran fighter is keen to show fans that his best days are not behind him.

“I want to make people say ‘Kanehara is at his prime’ instead of ‘Kanehara was at his prime,” he said in a press release put out by the company.

Another fighter making his debut at RIZIN 21 is 22-year-old Naoki Inoue. The former UFC flyweight will be competing in the promotions loaded bantamweight division. He will fight Australia’s Trent Girdham.

“I’m honored to be fighting in the stacked RIZIN Bantamweight division. I’ve cornered my teammate Ulka Sasaki’s fights a few time and I have been wanting to fight on such a great platform in front of many fans so I am very excited that this is finally happening!” Inoue said.

The main event of the night will feature Japan’s Mikuru Asakura taking on Mexico’s Daniel Salas. Asakura is a riding a seven-fight win streak and was in fine form at RIZIN’s New Year’s Eve show where he defeated John Macapa.

The card as it currently stands is:

MMA
Mikuru Asakura vs Daniel Salas
Vugar Keramov vs Kyle Aguon
Victor Henry vs Masanori Kanehara
Trent Girdham vs Naoki Inoue
Kintaro vs Kenji Kato
Roque Martinez vs Hideki Sekine
Marcos de Souza vs Falco Neto

Kickboxing
YUYA vs KOUKI
Kenichi Takeuchi vs Naoya
Kousuke Jitukata vs Ryo Sakai
Masaji Tozuka vs Masahiro Ozawa
Henry Cejas vs SEIDO

The post RIZIN FF Announce 11 Bouts For Feb’s RIZIN 21 Card appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

RIZIN Champ Claims Management Has Been Embezzling Money From Her

Former UFC star and RIZIN atomweight champion Seo Hee Ham recently took to her Instagram page to call out her management for embezzling money from her. Ham claims her manager, Hidekatsu Morooka, and his wife, have been embezzling money since the early days of her mixed martial arts (MMA) career. As a whole, she believes […]

The post RIZIN Champ Claims Management Has Been Embezzling Money From Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former UFC star and RIZIN atomweight champion Seo Hee Ham recently took to her Instagram page to call out her management for embezzling money from her.

Ham claims her manager, Hidekatsu Morooka, and his wife, have been embezzling money since the early days of her mixed martial arts (MMA) career. As a whole, she believes they’ve stolen more than $26,000 from her. Check out her translated Instagram statement below (H/T Elect Times)

“I moved into Japanese pro MMA league, making my debut in 2007. Hidekatsu Morooka and his wife, Yoon Sik Lee, were my [management team] and I could made a contract for my fight in Japan through them. They’ve treated me like a real daughter, so I respected and followed what they said until 2014. Five years have passed since then, and I started to fight in Japan again. And of course, I got reunited with Hidekatsu Morooka and his wife to work with them.

“But recently I figured out that they’re embezzling my fight money. If the sum involved is small, I will be able to forgive what they do. Because they always says that they received no extra money to make a fight for Korean MMA fighters in Japan and complain about big deficits. So I appreciated their effort, [feel] sorry for them, and didn’t believe the bad rumors about their embezzlement.

“But with recently discovered proof, I have lost all faith in them. They embezzled my fight money twice in 2019, and the total comes out to 30 million Korean Won [roughly $26,000]. I think it’s not just me who got mugged, maybe a lot of Korean MMA fighters got scammed by them.

“I hate to say this, cause I believed and followed them for the last 15 years. But I know that I must step up now, [because] I hope there will be no more innocent victims. Hidekatsu Morooka and his wife are still looking for [an] MMA fighter and making a fight in Japan. There was no contrition and no apology, so I’m very disappointed in their actions. I really want them out in the industry, and urge all the MMA fighters to avoid them.”

Ham, who spent time in the UFC from 2014-2016, only just won the RIZIN atomweight title last weekend when she beat Ayaka Hamasak via split decision.

What do you make of Ham’s management embezzling money from her?

The post RIZIN Champ Claims Management Has Been Embezzling Money From Her appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Tenshin Nasukawa Destroys Rui Ebata – RIZIN 20 Highlights

Tenshin Nasukawa destroyed Rui Ebata during his performance at RIZIN 20 over the past weekend. The show went down from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Nasukawa took on Ebata in the co-main event of the night, winning via first-round TKO after scoring three knockdowns. It was a masterful striking performance put on bu […]

The post Tenshin Nasukawa Destroys Rui Ebata – RIZIN 20 Highlights appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Tenshin Nasukawa destroyed Rui Ebata during his performance at RIZIN 20 over the past weekend.

The show went down from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Nasukawa took on Ebata in the co-main event of the night, winning via first-round TKO after scoring three knockdowns. It was a masterful striking performance put on bu the 21-year-old Nasukawa. Check out the highlights from his performance here.

Main card

  • Manel Kape def. Kai Asakura via R2 TKO (strikes, 0:38)
  • Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Rui Ebata via R1 TKO (three knockdowns, 2:47)
  • Seo Hee Ham def. Ayaka Hamasaki via split decision
  • Mikura Asakura def. John Macapa via unanimous decision
  • Rena def. Lindsey Vanzandt via R3 TKO (corner stoppage, 4:42)

Undercard

  • Tofiq Musaev def. Patricky Pitbull via unanimous decision
  • Jiri Prochazka def. C.B. Dollaway via R1 KO (left hook, 1:55)
  • Simon Biyong def. Vitaly Shemetov via R2 TKO (strikes, 0:58)
  • Hiromasa Ogikubo def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via split decision
  • Jake Heun def. Satoshi Ishii via R1 TKO (strikes, 1:12)
  • Patrick Mix def. Yuki Motoya via R1 submission (guillotine choke, 1:37)
  • Taiju Shiratori def. Taiga via R2 TKO (doctor stoppage, 3:00)
  • Miyuu Yamamoto def. Amp the Rocket via unanimous decision
  • Patricky Pitbull def. Luiz Gustavo via R1 KO (soccer kick, 0:28)
  • Tofiq Musaev def. Johnny Case via R1 TKO (strikes, 2:45)

What do you think about Nasukawa’s spectacular performance against Ebata?

The post Tenshin Nasukawa Destroys Rui Ebata – RIZIN 20 Highlights appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.